Dr. Brandy Taylor Dédé and her daughter used to support their child. The main focus is to form an alliance with your child’ s teacher and establish a goal of creating a supportive and nurturing environment at school. If several futile attempts are made to align with your child’ s teacher, then it is likely time to bring in an administrator to help with problem solving about your child’ s needs.
Question: Too often, we hear news reports about episodes of bullying in school settings. How do we prepare our children to respond in a Christian manner to bullying? How can parents or extended family recognize symptoms of bullying( whether the child is the bully or the victim of bullying)? Dr. Dédé: As Christian parents, we frequently encourage our children to show love and kindness towards others, and stand up for those who don’ t have a voice. We may also teach them to turn the other cheek. As we teach our children to love, be friendly towards others, and be a voice for the weak, we also have to teach them how to use wisdom to ensure that all involved are safe. For example, there are times when it is sufficient to stand up to a bully by asserting confidence and stating in clear, uncertain terms that you will not be violated. However, there are times when the bullying is severe and needs to be reported to appropriate personnel at the school and / or law enforcement. Younger children may benefit from engaging in role play on how to handle different bullying scenarios, whereas older youth may benefit from dialogue about how to handle various types of situations. I believe that as we train our chil-
28 HimPower August 2018